Saturday, May 30, 2015

Health Problems in Men

These silent killers start very small and are often ignored, but they controlled and treated if detected early. Our major problem is that we take things for granted. We don’t seek medical attention until it's late.

1. Prostate
2. High blood pressure

Prostate
The prostate is a sex gland in men which surrounds the neck of the bladder and urethra. It is as little as the size of a walnut. It has a slightly alkaline fluid which forms part of the seminal fluid ( the fluid that transports sperm). Research has shown that African men are more prone to prostate cancer. Men with family history of prostate cancer are also at risk.

Prostate diseases can be
cancerous as well as benign (non-cancerous). 

Urinary Incontinence
This happens when you lose bladder control. It is a very common problem among mature men.

Impotence
This is the inability of a man to have an erection. It also means his inability to keep the erection when finally there is an erection. Some men experience very strong erection at the sight of a woman, but the moment they have that woman in bed, before she is undressed, the penis falls flat. This could be heartbreaking and traumatic, not just for the man, the woman too.

Prostatitis
  This happens when the prostate becomes inflamed and is often accompanied by pain, discomfort, frequent or infrequent urination, and sometimes, fever. There are two types of prostatitisthe less chronic prostatitis and Acute Bacterial Prostatitis in which men have acute urinary tract infection which leads to urinary frequency and urgency. They also urinate a lot at night and have pain in their pelvis and genital area. If left untreated, this problem can lead to bladder infections, boils in the prostate, completely blocked urine flow, and if left untreated, it can lead to low blood pressure.


Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
This has to do with the enlargement of the prostate and it is the most common prostate problem. This problem causes the prostate specific antigen level to move higher than the normal level and the higher it is, the higher your chances of having cancer.
I would advise you see a doctor the moment you have any of these warning signs. 
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Difficulty urinating
• Pain or burning during urination
• Chills and fever
• Pain in the lower abdomen, groin, or back.
• Pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse or ejaculation
It is advisable for adults to have their comprehensive health tests done at least, once every year and in which case prostate examination comes in. This is not a matter of faith and religion, save yourself some headache and pain by looking for the black goat while it is still day.


High Blood Pressure
It is often called the silent killer. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. The heart pumps blood into the arteries (blood vessels), which carry the blood throughout the body. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the body and it contributes to hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis and the development of heart failure.
High blood pressure (HBP) itself usually has no signs or symptoms. Rarely, headaches may occur. 
You can have HBP for years without knowing it. During this time, the condition can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body. 
Some people get to know that they have HBP after the damage has been done and problems, such as coronary heart diseasestroke, or kidney failure occur.
Knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you're feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. If your blood pressure is too high, you can take steps to lower it. Lowering your blood pressure will help reduce your risk for related health problems. 

Causes and treatment of hypertension
Being overweight or obese
 I must let you know that though pot belly is the easiest sign of obesity, there are cases where people look okay but they are obese. One way of looking at body weight is by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI).This is calculated as:
                Weight (kg)
        Height (m) x Height (m)
   For example, if someone weighs 92kg and has a height of 1.6m, to work out his body mass index you will have:
            92
      1.6 x 1.6
=36, which puts him into the fat category
Note:
BMI of less than 20 = (underweight may need to consult your doctor or try to eat more)
BMI between 20 and 24.9 = (right weight range for good health)
BMI between 25 and 29.9 = overweight (try to lose the excess)
BMI between 30 and 39.9 = fat (important to lose weight)
Greater than 40 = very fat (serious and you really need to do something)

Lack of physical activity
 Exercise makes your heart pump. You must not go to the gym to keep fit. Brisk walking three times weekly is fine. 

Wrong diet
 Reduce the amount of meat especially red meat. Choose lean meat, only eat it a couple of times a week. Dear African man, stop thinking that your wife is trying to insult you or make you look like a poor man when you don’t have different parts of meat in your meal. It’s time to give up the shaki, roundabout, bokototozo (names for different parts of cow), etc from the nearby mama-put. Fish and white meat would do. 

Reduce the amount of sugar you consume. A good number of men like a lot of sugar in their tea, coffee, and cereal. Guys, you don’t have to destroy your life. You don’t need that full-cream milk and the likes. Go for skimmed or reduced fat milk.

The link between salt and high blood pressure is especially compelling. People who add no salt to their food show virtually no traces of essential hypertension. Let your wife reduce the amount of salt in your meal; advise her to use spices instead. Too much salt causes water retention and cellulite and won’t help your blood pressure. This means you have to eat more at home. Ladies, if you are prone to cellulites, you have to take it easy with salt.

Genetics
High blood pressure tends to run in families and is more likely to affect men than women. Age and race also play a role. Blacks are twice as likely as whites to have high blood pressure, although the gap begins to narrow around age 44. After age 65, black women have the highest case of high blood pressure.

Stress
I once read a story about a man who spent his old age in regrets. What regrets, you may ask. This man made all the good grades in school, made the billions of dollars, became so popular, but after it all, he still had regrets; he never enjoyed all those good things he worked for. He went through his youth struggling for things he never enjoyed. Learn to take it easy on yourself. 

Hypertension, if not constantly monitored, often times lead to stroke and cardiac arrest. People, Africans especially, always blame their enemies when a very vibrant man or woman suddenly drops dead. Our religious leaders also attribute these things to some spiritual forces. The problem often comes as a result of one’s carelessness towards personal health.

Whatever you are going through today shall someday come to an end. Don’t allow the end of that relationship, the loss of that job, the death of your loved one; make you lose your sanity. It's tough, but you have to remain strong and healthy.





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